


Dream Lover

by RunMarmiteRun



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Fluff, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 08:43:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20721401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunMarmiteRun/pseuds/RunMarmiteRun
Summary: I want a Dream lover, so I don’t have to dream alone...A dream is a wish your heart makes...(Don’t worry people at the gym or ZR voice actors, this is just a strange bit of fanfic that wandered in my mind.  Probably should be one of those bad holiday films they put on telly...)





	Dream Lover

“You’re doing a stunning job, Runner 5.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Sam sounded proud. I kept going, despite the cramp I could feel coming on in my left calf. Janine and the rest cared, yeah, but Sam was always the one there trying to make sure I was safe. Well, there was the thing with the jumper but I had been a little out of it so we still needed to clear that up...but I could always count on Sam. 

“Battery low - disconnecting.”

Damn. I hit the stop on the treadmill, probably with more force than necessary, and grabbed my phone from my hidden pocket. I knew I should have stopped after the first mission but I was so much in the story and I thought today I’d be able to go further since I’d been training hard for the 5k. I sighed and headed over to the water fountain with my beaten up water bottle. I chuckled at myself as I refilled it. “Collected a water bottle,” I said softly to myself.

Turning to head back over to wipe off the machine, I nearly collided with another regular. “Sorry,” I said, sidestepping quickly. “No problem,” he said, flashing a grin. I went on. I really needed to learn to watch myself coming away from the fountain, this was probably the fourteenth or fifteenth time I’d nearly run the poor fellow over. 

5 am. Alarm going off. So To the gym. Today everything is charged - I can find out what happens in Abel! I slept in my sports bra and running gear save my trainers as usual so just in with the trainers and off to the gym with my mollie bag packed with work clothes slung over my back. Heading towards the door, I’m focused. Only two weeks till the virtual race, I want to be ready! Suddenly at the door, the poor bloke I nearly ran over at the water fountain is almost run over again. “Sorry! I really need to stop trying to dash over you, I promise I’ll be more careful at the fountain today.” He grins, what a nice smile. “Yeah, we’ve got to stay safe out there.” Then he holds the door open for me, and I smile at him as I head to the locker room to drop off my bag.

“Get back here, Five - Janine’s going to crack open the bubbly!” Sam’s waiting for me. I know he was poking fun at Maxie and Paula, but behind his shyness maybe there’s a chance - best not get distracted out here. Keep running until you’re sure you’re safe. You never know. My feet are hitting hard. I’m headed back. Nearly there, almost there....

A tap on my shoulder. I instantly duck away, startled. The gym attendant is motioning for me to take off my headphones. I pause, pulled away from the fact that most of Abel is having a disastrous occurrence during what should have been...anyway...

“Look, we know you train pretty intensely and you’ve been stepping it up of late for whatever reason, wondered if you might be interested in one of the group classes on running conditioning. Not trying to be rude or anything but when you joined you mentioned you’d never run before and this was all new. Check with me at the desk on your way out if you want, we do them on Saturdays starting next week for a month.” I did my best to smile. “Sure, uh, thanks, I appreciate it. Might do.” 

I looked at the time and decided I’d have to call it done. So close but no “Mission complete” today. And I was sure that was a cliffhanger if ever there was one anyway, no way with less than .05 km left to go they’d figure a way out of that mess. I went to the fountain, in a bit of a funk.

“Collected a bottle of water.” I said it to myself as usual despite my mood. I turned to head towards the lockers so I could shower and get ready for my workday. Part of the reason I loved running for Abel was that in real life I was the “before,” I had a job I didn’t hate, I was reasonably good at what I did and all that, but I was sort of a nobody really. When I was running- well, to be fair, I was more like trying desperately to slog along on a treadmill without dying, and the real 5k races I was terribly prone to shin splints- but being Runner 5, I knew people were counting on me to make that last sprint. Besides, what girl doesn’t need a plethora of sports bras?

I threw on my business casual, sighed as I tried to do my hair, and sling my mollie bag back over my shoulder. Some Runner 5. When caught up in the story I was about 5 or 6 inches taller and looked like my cousin who had run track, and I was probably about 6 or 7 years younger too. Ah well. The zombie apocalypse could be good to me tomorrow morning -perhaps I’d finally get to finish a mission this week!

I headed out the door. Going past the front desk, someone steps in front of me as I’m headed directly for the door. “Hey there, do you want to sign up for the free Saturday training bonus class thing? They said they have to have five people at least, and I’ve just signed up to be the fourth. What do you say, want to be our runner number five?” My brain does a jolt for a moment, then I realize it’s the poor fellow I keep bashing into at the water fountain the past few mornings just in his work clothes. “I’m, well, I’m not really an experienced runner...” He’s flashing a great smile at me and why is he talking to me here? I am so puzzled...he’s holding out a pen. “Well, as long as they don’t expect too much.” It won’t hurt to get a bit of extra training in I guess, maybe they won’t laugh at me too hard. I just got past the first part of learning to run where I didn’t literally hold onto the treadmill and fall off when I let go. I sign the paper, a hurried illegible scribble, and hand him back the pen. I rush out the door towards work.

5 am. Abel awaits. I finish the mission. “No way!” I exclaim aloud before I realize it, then hurriedly punch in the next mission. Time to start the next season. I can’t believe it. Sam, there you are, thank goodness. I finish the run. Things look pretty hopeless but as long as you’re a voice in my ear I’m sure Abel can pull through. To the fountain, “Collected a water bottle,” I say, then...”Sorry, I truly need to learn to look before I turn, I don’t mean to run you over every day.” It’s the same fellow. I really have got to start paying more attention to where other people are when I’m stepping off the treadmill. “Ah no, I think we just finish running about the same time every day. See you tomorrow at seven a.m. for the training thing, lady who saved the class? Only five signed up and I really wanted to do this, they would have cancelled it if you hadn’t agreed to come on.” I did my best to smile. “Uh, yeah, I’ll be there.” He grinned, a big genuine looking smile. “Great! See you there!” I headed to the lockers. I guess I must have been going to the gym enough I was finally getting gym buddies? Yeah, maybe one day it might show in something like my run times or my waistline.

6:30 a.m. Time to head in for this class thing. I had put some clothes in my mollie bag as usual but instead of business casual I put in my well worn Radio Abel shirt. I would probably need to listen to the radio boyfriends later today. I had let my mum know I was doing some extra training today and she had my little one over at her house. Probably had stayed up watching Adam West Batman or Star Wars if my Da had any say so last night. Oh well, it hadn’t hurt me much to be a nerd. I flipped through my playlist on the way. An odd oldie came on as I pulled in to park. “Dream lover, where are you?” I often thought Sam was as close as I’d ever get to a relationship and even had a coworker I joked with about me going on runs with my virtual boyfriend. In the door...and there waiting with a grin was that same fellow. “Hi, I’m ready to run. How about you, lucky five? I’m Samuel, by the way. That’s why all the “Samuel Adams” t-shirts, I actually don’t drink much but my friends all think it’s hilarious to give me the shirts. Uh, want to go get some breakfast after class? I’ve been trying to get up the nerve to talk to you for about two weeks after I saw you duck to the side on the treadmill and you looked so intense, then you ran like your life depended on it. Then I saw how you just keep going no matter what and I noticed...I’m babbling, aren’t I? Anyway, you can call me Sam if you want.”


End file.
